


Be sure to come back to me

by TalysAlankil



Series: Situations prompts [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Declarations Of Love, M/M, Minor canon divergence, Pining, Pre-Canon, Scala ad Caelum (Kingdom Hearts)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-11-02 01:51:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20581730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalysAlankil/pseuds/TalysAlankil
Summary: As Xehanort is about to tour the world in preparation for the Mark of Mastery exam, Eraqus wants to send him off properly.





	Be sure to come back to me

**Author's Note:**

> Another Situations prompt; hopefully I can get the next one out in less than three months :|

"Xehanort! Wait!"

Eraqus dashed down the streets of Scala ad Caelum after his fellow apprentice, shouting his name at the top of his lungs, his white robes billowing in the wind. He turned more than a few heads in the process, but he couldn't care about that just now—not when this was way too important.

He finally caught up to his friends on a terrace overlooking the harbor. Eraqus felt a jolt of nostalgia at the sight of this place: a long time ago, when Eraqus had first shown Xehanort around the city, they'd stopped here for a while. Sitting at one of these tables, Eraqus had ordered one treat after the other as he learned of all the things on the café's menu Xehanort had never tried on his island home. Admittedly they'd done a poor job of touring the city as a result, but Eraqus would never forget that day.

That he'd catch up to Xehanort here, of all places, felt like cruel irony. Eraqus skidded to a stop right in front of him, short on breath after running so hard.

"Are you all right?" Xehanort asked. "I thought we'd already said goodbye."

Eraqus gasped for air one last time, then he looked up at his friend. "I know, but—I didn't give you a parting gift."

Xehanort cocked his head to the side, half frowning, half grinning. "You don't have to get me one."

"Well, okay. But also I found this place in the tower right after you left, and I thought—it was just_ so cool_—I couldn't let you leave before I—"

"Slow down," Xehanort said, chuckling. "Start from the beginning. You found a 'place'?"

Eraqus nodded. "A secret room. There was a secret room in our tower, this entire time!" He held up his hand. "I cut myself."

Xehanort frowned. "Eraqus, I don't think—"

"No, I mean, by accident! It was a paper cut. I didn't notice I was bleeding, so I just rested my hand back on the desk, and suddenly that door appeared behind the bookshelves!"

"You think your blood did this?" Xehanort's eyebrows shot up. "Do you think it was set up by your ancestor?"

"I don't just _think_ it—Master Brain's hat was in the secret room! It _has_ to be him!"

"His…hat." Xehanort narrowed his eyes at that. "If you're here to give me—"

"Don't be silly! It wouldn't suit you anyway. I did find this book, though." With a sly grin, Eraqus took the book out of his satchel and held it up. "I—think it's legit. 'On that fated land, a great war shall transpire. Darkness will prevail and the light expire.' But it's like…a whole book of prophecies."

"A book of prophecies?" Xehanort gaped at the book, as if fascinated by it. "Can I—can I see it?"

"Yeah, of course." Eraqus led Xehanort to the nearest table on the terrace. They took seats, and Eraqus placed the book between them. "Careful, there's a loose page near the end."

"This is—" Xehanort said as he skimmed through the volume. "You're _giving_ it to me?"

"Well…I was thinking more I'd lend it to you." Eraqus paused, blushing before he could even get the next words out. "So you'd have a reason to come back."

Xehanort shot him an indulgent smile. "Of course I'm coming back. I'm only traveling the worlds to prepare for the Mark of Mastery exam, did you forget? I'm not letting you be the only Master of this generation!"

Eraqus couldn't help a nervous laugh. "Yeah, of—of course you're coming back."

"This is _incredible_," Xehanort said, his attention turned back to the book as if he hadn't noticed Eraqus's flustered state. "The 'one who bears the sigil'…what do you think that means?"

"I—I may have a theory, but I'm still looking into it."

Xehanort raised an eyebrow, curious. "Okay. Mark that as another reason for me to come back, then," he said, grinning.

Eraqus scoffed. "Is that really all?"

"_Now_ you're just fishing," Xehanort teased. "I'll always have your back. I promised you. Of course I'll come back for _you_, too, dummy."

Eraqus had to look away, and even then, he was sure he was beaming too hard for Xehanort not to notice, even with the book as a ready source of distraction. "Okay. Okay, good. I thought…maybe, since you'd always wanted to see the worlds…well, you wouldn't need to come back once you were already _seeing_ them, you know?"

"Of course I'm excited to see the worlds. But you're my best friend, Eraqus. That's important too."

The words, though they were kind, felt like a stab at Eraqus's heart. "Okay," he simply said. "Okay, that's good to hear."

But Xehanort wasn't done. "Besides, once we're both Keyblade Masters, we can see _all_ the worlds—together. You their defender, and me…whatever you'll want me to be."

A gasp escaped Eraqus's lips, and he couldn't restrain the hope in his heart as he looked back up at his friend. The candid smile on Xehanort's lips, the steady way he looked at Eraqus…was he reading the signs correctly, or was he projecting his own feelings?

Clearing his throat, Eraqus pushed himself off his chair and onto his feet, keenly aware of Xehanort's gaze locked on him. "Well, I'm—you have your parting gift. You should be off now."

"Yeah," Xehanort said, getting up and collecting the book. "Walk with me?"

Eraqus's heart lurched in his chest at the invitation. "Of course."

It was just a short walk to the harbor proper, from which it was customary for Keyblade apprentices to depart to other worlds, and they made the trek in amicable silence. It felt comfortable, yet something was missing, too—at least, as far as Eraqus was concerned.

He barely managed to make himself say something at the very last minute—after Xehanort had already opened a gate to the Lanes Between. "Xehanort! Wait!"

His friend turned back, Keyblade still in hand. "What is it?"

"I—" He cleared his throat, nervous. "I had another parting gift for you. A real one, that you don't need to return."

He caught the questioning look in Xehanort's eyes as he stepped forward and closed the distance between them, but he ignored it, ignored his own reluctance, and finally, _finally_, pressed his lips to his friend's.

Xehanort started in surprise, but just as Eraqus was pulling away, Xehanort placed his free hand on the back of his neck, drawing him in and pressing their foreheads together. "I wish you'd told me sooner," he said in a low voice.

"I—I was scared," Eraqus confessed. "But I was even more scared of letting you go without saying anything."

"I'm glad you did." Without warning, Xehanort kissed him back—just a brief press of their lips together, but it was enough to send electricity across Eraqus's skin. "And believe me, I _will_ return that gift too when we meet again."

The words echoed in Eraqus's mind, and all he could do was stare, dazed, as his friend stepped through the gate, and vanished to another world.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt for this fic:  

> 
> I like the idea that Xehaqus had a bit of a Sokai dynamic (until it went horribly, horribly wrong, obviously).


End file.
